Bruno Fernandes’ iron man streak snapping this season has been followed by Patrick Dorgu picking up a hamstring injury.
Patrick Dorgu went down against Fulham, holding his hamstring, and what was thought of as a cramp has emerged as something much more serious.
Dorgu’s injury update is brutal for Man Utd, who were starting to see the best of the Dane in a new position after struggling to impose himself under Ruben Amorim.
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Patrick Dorgu in black Manchester United shirt
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Dorgu has been a famously injury-free player, to the extent that it has been called ‘unusual’ previously, but that unusual streak finally snapped when he was asked to play for two players.
Bruno Fernandes and Luke Shaw talk to the referee
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Patrick Dorgu’s ‘unusual’ injury streak
Much like Fernandes, Dorgu has been an iron man throughout his career, as his only injury before this hamstring issue was a five-day absence at Lecce in 2023, which caused him to miss one game.
In his whole career, that’s the only injury, which is remarkable for a player who plays one of the most athletically demanding roles in modern football.
To add to that, he has largely played for underdog teams, so most of his running comes without the ball, which is even more tiring.
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Such was his durability that it caused the Nordsjaelland director, Alexander Riget, to remark that it was almost an ‘unusual’ trait to see in a player.
He said back when Dorgu’s move to Old Trafford was finalised [via Sky], “I cannot remember him ever being injured since he started with Nordsjaelland. That is seven years in a row, which is very unusual. Of course, I think that also says something about how he treats his body.”
Dorgu was living up to that reputation at United as well, despite the sharp increase in levels and demands of the Premier League.
However, being asked to perform basically two roles on the pitch to protect his teammate’s workload finally snapped this ‘unusual’ streak.
Dorgu sacrificed to protect Luke Shaw
Luke Shaw has been moved back to his left-back position with a switch in formations, but an interesting pattern has emerged.
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Despite being a full-back, Shaw’s high-intensity output hasn’t changed much, as Dorgu has done the bulk of the running for him.
Since Dorgu is a traditional winger, Shaw doesn’t need to overlap, and because the Dane has defensive ability, Shaw is helped in duels against the opposition winger.
Against Arsenal alone, Dorgu had 31 high-intensity sprints compared to Shaw’s 16, despite the latter playing the full 90 minutes.
Basically, Dorgu’s role as a left winger was to be a winger in attack, and a left-back in defence to protect Shaw and manage his workload from the full-back position.
It’s hard to definitively say that this is what caused Dorgu’s injury, but hamstring injuries are generally a result of an overload in intensity, which Dorgu’s role demanded of him to protect Shaw.
He’ll be replaced by either Matheus Cunha or Mason Mount, both of whom are inside forwards, which means Shaw’s load will increase now.
He needs to ensure that Dorgu’s sacrifice doesn’t go in vain by handling that increased load, which will come with more defensive responsibilities and an overlapping role in attack.
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